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Daily news: SLC approves 0.5% sales tax increase to help fund downtown project

The UPR daily news logo. It has the upr logo, phrase "Daily News," and a green microphone all within a speech bubble against a blue background.

This is your daily news rundown for Wednesday, October 2. In this edition:

  • Longtime Utah lawmaker Mike Dmitrich had died at the age of 87.
  • Thousands in the Salt Lake Valley were left without power after various outages were reported Wednesday morning.
  • The Salt Lake City Council has approved a 0.5% tax increase to fund the upcoming downtown revitalization project.

Mike Dmitrich, longtime Utah lawmaker, dies at 87

Longtime Utah lawmaker and Democratic caucus leader Mike Dmitrich has died at age 87, according to an online obituary published Tuesday.

Dmitrich served in the Utah Legislature for 40 consecutive years, including representing Price in the Utah House of Representatives from 1968 to 1991, and as a member of the Utah Senate from 1991 until he retired in 2008.

During different points of his tenure, he served as both House minority leader and Senate minority leader. In 2009, the Utah Legislature also renamed part of U.S. 6 the Mike Dmitrich Highway in his honor.

Thousands left without power in Salt Lake Valley Wednesday morning

Thousands in the Salt Lake Valley were left without power Wednesday morning due to an issue with a Rocky Mountain Power substation.

The power company reported the power outage at about 7:45 a.m., saying it was caused by a circuit breaker tripping.

They restored electricity to the majority of the 5,800 affected customers by 10:30 a.m., but some outages aren't expected to be fixed until later closer to 3:30 to 4:30 p.m..

SLC Council has approved a 0.5% tax increase to fund downtown project

The Salt Lake City Council voted Tuesday to approve a 0.5% tax increase to help fund the upcoming downtown revitalization project.

Members of the public spoke both in favor of and against the plan at the meeting, but in the end the council voted unanimously in support with one council member absent.

The Salt Lake City Council now has until December 31 to adopt the sales tax adjustment and authorize Mayor Erin Mendenhall to sign the agreement.

Under the Capital City Revitalization Zone Act that was passed earlier this year, the new sales tax increase is not allowed to exceed 0.5% and will be in place for a max of 30 years.

Duck is a general reporter and weekend announcer at UPR, and is studying broadcast journalism and disability studies at USU. They grew up in northern Colorado before moving to Logan in 2018, so the Rocky Mountain life is all they know. Free time is generally spent with their dog, Monty, listening to podcasts, reading or wishing they could be outside more.